New job with a new government and a success story in Washington

(Excerpted from In Pursuit of Governance, autobiography of MDD Peiris)

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The United National Party won the General Election held on February 15, 1989. On Saturday the 18th the new Cabinet was sworn in. There was a great deal of speculation on Saturday morning. We did not know to what Ministries we would be appointed or whether we would be appointed at all. No one thought President Premadasa a predictable person. A few Secretaries displayed a fairly high level of anxiety. Some of them telephoned me at home and discussed prospects.

I for mypart was quite relaxed. I felt that I had performed well in my public service career and if any government did not appreciate that, it was their problem, not mine. You could not compel a government to appoint you as a Secretary to a Ministry. It was entirely up to them. There was nothing you could do. I had long learned not to worry about matters beyond one's control. In any case I was confident that I could always engage myself in something productive either in government or outside.

In fact this is what I said to those colleagues who telephoned me. Among the telephone calls I received early that afternoon was one from Mr. Lalith Athulathmudali. "For your misfortune," he said, "I am your Minister." I instantly replied "Give it a week or two, and let's see whose misfortune it is." He laughed. "Never mind all that, could you please come home? I have asked my State Ministers also to come. I want to discuss some matters," he said. It was only then I came to know that the new

Ministry was exactly the one that the President had discussed with me on the 14th afternoon and it was in this manner that I began the relationship with the new Minister.